A US Navy pilot pulled off heroic landing that saved 8 after engine failure en route to aircraft carrier

A pilot flying a US Navy C-2 Greyhound saved eight of 11 passengers by making a heroic landing at sea.

The plane had no ejection seats or parachutes, so a landing on the water was the only option.

The US Navy's swift pace of operations in the Pacific may have contributed to this crash landing, as it has to other crashes that left 17 sailors dead late this year.

The US Navy has called off its search for three missing sailors after a C-2 Greyhound aircraft crashed on approach to the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier at sea near Okinawa, Japan — but the plane's pilot has emerged a hero for saving eight of the 11 passengers.

Lawrence Brennan, a former US Navy captain, told Business Insider, "Greyhounds are not equipped with ejection seats or parachutes."

The air crew's only choice was to land at sea.

"This must have been particularly challenging after one engine failed, reportedly on approach to the carrier," Brennan said.

C-2 Greyhound

U.S. Navy

"The Greyhound was landed in the open ocean so that it remained afloat for a sufficient time to allow the majority of the people on board to escape," said Brennan. "The sacrifice, skill, and professionalism that he and his aircrew demonstrated should be considered for recognition by the award of a Distinguished Flying Cross."

Although the Greyhounds have all served for decades, the Navy regularly maintains them. Brennan points out that the last Greyhound casualty came about in 1973, but that the swift operational tempo of the US Navy in the pacific may have contributed to the crash.

Such was found to be the case when the collisions involving the USS Fitzgerald and USS John S. McCain, which the Navy concluded was preventable.